


A Legendary Thanksgiving

by hoffkk



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Captain Canary, Multi, Surprise Ending, Thanksgiving
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-22
Updated: 2017-11-22
Packaged: 2019-02-05 09:52:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12792030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hoffkk/pseuds/hoffkk
Summary: Thanksgiving games, girl talk, everyone hiding from Nate and Ray, and then a surprise no one saw coming.  Yep, a typical day in the life of the legends.





	A Legendary Thanksgiving

**Author's Note:**

> A little holiday drabble from me to you! Enjoy! ;)

"Happy Thanksgiving!" Ray toasted to the motley crew around the dining table, sounding even more chipper than usual.

"Happy Thanksgiving!" They gang cheered in response, all except for Sara.  She just gave a weak smile before downing the rest of her wine like a shot of bourbon.

Before she could get caught in another toast or ridiculous game made by Ray and Nate (seriously, she never witnessed a greater torture than Thanksgiving Pictionary... and that means a lot coming from a former assassin), Sara excused herself to the kitchen for a refill.  Entering the spacious galley area, her boots clicked on the tile floor as she made her way to the counter full of beverages.  Grabbing the half-empty bottle of Merlot with her free hand, she carefully began to pour.  As she did so, a light glinting off of her finger caught her attention, causing Sara to glance at the silver ring on her pinky.  For a moment, Sara became lost in thought until she felt a rush of wetness flow over her hand.

"Shit!" She muttered angrily, putting the bottle down on the counter top along with her wine glass that was now filled to the brim.  Quickly, she found some paper towels and began cleaning up her mess, all the while thinking about how humorous it was that someone with her reflexes could make such a bone-headed move.  Once Sara was done with both tending to the mess and scolding herself, she forewent the stem and grabbed her wine glass by the body, lifting slowly to her lips.  Just as she took a sip, Zari entered the kitchen with her own empty glass.

"A little thirsty are we?" She asked wryly.

"What... too much?" Sara replied as a smirk played on her lips.

Zari gave a light chuckle then answered, "As the person who's been seated next to Rory all night, I'd say that _that_ looks like moderation."

Sara's smile got a little bigger as she said, "Here," then gestured for her friend's glass.  When Zari handed it over, she poured half of her wine into her friends empty cup before handing it back.

"Thanks." Zari nodded, taking a sip of the chilled liquid.  When Sara didn't reply and the conversation began to lull, she spoke up again.  "Half-full."

"Sorry?" Sara questioned, feeling like she missed something."

"My glass."  Zari explained.  "Tonight I choose to see it as half-full.  After all, I am on a spaceship floating through time, eating like a king for the first time in... well... ever."

"Yeah, it's a pretty good gig." Sara agreed, though her facial expression stayed neutral.

"But I sense you don't agree with my sentiment."  Zari noted.  "Given your lack of enthusiasm this evening."

"Don't take it personally."  Sara told her.  "My glass has been half-empty more often than not over these last few years."

"Any particular reason for this year?  Zari couldn't help but ask. 

Glancing at her ring again, Sara sighed then looked back to her friend and answered, "You know, you aren't the first newbie in the group.  We've had a few team members come and go... but only one left _permanently_."

"Yeah, I heard one of the guys mention that before." Zari recalled, thinking back to one of Mick's drunken tales about a dead friend.  "His name was Snark?"

"Snart.  Leonard Snart."  Sara corrected.  "I don't know what you heard, but long story short, he died saving our lives, he was a hero."

"Sounds like a good guy." Zari surmised.

"Not exactly." Sara retorted, holding back a laugh.  "We were actually a lot alike, him and me.  We were both decent people who were dealt unfortunate hands, over and over again, forever trying to escape the darkness around us and trying to be better."

Zari nodded.  "So, I take it you two were close then?"

Sara shrugged, "We were... friends, I guess.  We kept each other sane inside this madhouse.  Anytime I started to feel overwhelmed by a mission, Leonard would pull out his handy deck of cards.  We'd play for hours, talking about everything and nothing.  It always made me feel better.  _He_ always made me feel better.  Anyway... this is the first time we've actually celebrated a holiday since we became a team--"

"And the first time since Leonard's death."  Zari finished, understanding washing over her.

"Don't get me wrong." Sara began.  "In our line of work, we should be celebrating and enjoying the happy moments whenever we can.  I just can't help but feel like he should be here, you know, keeping Mick in check... insulting Ray... pretending he doesn't care about anything." She finished wistfully.

"I've had a hard time enjoying life, myself, since I lost my brother."  Zari informed her.  "Sometimes are harder than others, but I just remind myself that he wouldn't want me to feel guilty or sad.  He'd want me to move on with my life and be happy.  That's part of the reason I joined this team, to honor him."

"That's very poetic,"  Sara told her.  "but I've never been real big on poetry." She finished as she inhaled a big gulp of wine and tried not to think anymore about Leonard or what he may have wanted.

Before Zari could argue, Nate interrupted, "There you guys are!  Come on, it's time for the contest!"

"Contest?" Zari queried, quirking a brow.

"The _pie_ contest."  Nate explained enthusiastically.  "Ray and I both made pies and are about to have _one_ crusty competition.

"Gross." Sara uttered at the same time Zari said, "Ew."

"Okay, yeah," Nate conceded.  "That sounded better in my head.  But trust me, the pie is going to be delicious.  Well, at least _mine_ is.  I mean, Ray made some generic pumpkin pie, which is fine I suppose, you know, if you like that sort of thing, but _my_ pie really takes the cake... peanut butter pie with chocolate ganache and whipped cream icing.  I call it my 'buckeye pie" inspired by my hometown roots and my favorite sweet treat."

"Catchy." Sara said somewhat sarcastically.

Zari smirked then noted genuinely, "That actually sounds pretty good."

"Good?"  Nate asked rhetorically.  "Try totally amazeballs.  Which brings me back to my earlier sentiment... come on!  All you have to do is try a piece of each an fill out a secret ballot."

"Yeah, as fun as that sounds, I'm gonna pass."  Sara said, swiping the unfinished bottle of wine from the counter. "I'll be enjoying my dessert in liquid form."  She clarified, shaking the bottle for emphasis.

Nate just shrugged then looked to his other friend, "Zari, you in?"

"Hey, I never turn down free pie." She assured him.

"Sweet." Nate smiled, giving her two thumbs up before eagerly making his way back to the dining area.

Once he was out of sight, Zari turned to Sara, "Guess I should get back... you sure you don't want to come?  It could be fun.  You can keep Mick in check while I insult Ray, and we can both pretend we don't care about anything..." She trailed off.  When Sara didn't respond, she bargained, saying, "Okay, fine, you can insult Ray, and I'll keep an eye on Mick."

Finally cracking a smirk, Sara answered, "Very tempting, but I'm pretty full."

"Yeah of bull." Zari stated matter-of-factly.

"I'll be in my room if you need me." Sara winked then waltzed off in the opposite direction of the dining area, pausing in the doorway a moment to take a long swig straight from the bottle of Merlot even though there was still some in her glass.  "Later." She called over her shoulder one last time before heading toward the bunks.

Zari shook her head, not sure what to think or do about Sara.  Shrugging it off for now, she decided to let herself think on it while she ate a slice of pie... or two or four.  Man, did she love pie.  Thanksgiving was _definitely_ her favorite holiday.

******

About an hour later, Sara was lying on her bed while an empty wine bottle and glass lay on the floor.  She had been staring at the ceiling, thinking about the ghosts of Thanksgivings past: cooking with her mom, watching football with her dad, and fighting with her sister, both playfully and not so playfully.  She hadn't gotten to have a family Thanksgiving like that in a long time.  As she casually twisted the silver band around her finger, she wondered if Leonard _ever_ had, given his crappy childhood and all.

As her mind began to race with memories of both Thanksgiving and Leonard, a tear slid down her cheek.  Just as another began to fall, a knock sounded at the door.  Sara quickly wiped her face with her hands, then pushed up onto her elbows and called out, "Come in."

Zari appeared and leaned against the doorway with her hands casually wound behind her back.

"Feeling any better?" She questioned.

"Not really."  Sara answered honestly.

"I figured."  Zari retorted.  "That's why I brought these."  She added as she revealed a deck of playing cards in her hand.  "You up for a game?"  She added, shaking the deck temptingly.

"Sure." Sara said with a smile as she pushed up into sitting position.  "As long as you're ready for an ass-kicking."

"Bring it on." Zari teased back as she made her way across the small room to Sara's bed.  Plopping down on the opposite end, she sat pretzel style and began shuffling the cards.

Two games of Spit later, they were tied in wins when Amaya interrupted.

"There you two are."  She stated in a relieved tone.  "I thought I was going to drown out there in the sea of testosterone."

"Nonsense, you still had Ray." Zari jibed, tossing Sara a wink."

All three ladies laughed, then Amaya walked over to them as she responded, "Deal me in."

Soon all three of the women were playing cards, chatting and laughing as they did so.  After a few rounds, Jax poked his head in and commented,  "Thought I heard some actual fun going on back here."

"Oh, you did, did you?" Zari retorted.  "From all the way in the dining room?"

"Okay..." Jax relented.  "I may have been trying to hide when I heard some laughing."

"That bad, huh?"  Sara smirked.

"Let's just say that I am officially regretting not going back to 2017 with Stein for the holiday." Jax sighed as he leaned against the doorway.

"Why don't you join us?" Amaya offered.

"Thanks, but I wouldn't want to interrupt girl talk." He responded only half serious.

"We don't mind."  Amaya assured.  "Besides, this is way more fun than the shit show out there." She nodded toward the door.  Everyone just stared at her a moment and said nothing as Amaya shuffled the cards.  Looking up at their surprised facial expressions, Amaya felt slightly embarrassed as she went on to add, "I'm still working on my 21st century lingo, did I not use that term correctly?"

Her teammates all chuckled at her response, but Sara was the one to speak up, saying, "No, I'd say that was pretty spot on."

"You in or what, flame-boy?" Zari tossed out, changing the subject back to the original topic.

"Only if we play five-card draw."  Jax bargained.

"Deal." Sara nodded, reaching under her bed for her plastic chips.

Jax smiled and padded over to his friends as Amaya began to deal out the cards.

A few minutes later, Mick came barging in the room with a fresh beer in hand.

"You guys better have a good excuse for leaving me alone with bozo one and bozo two." Mick told them warningly.

"I think you just answered your own question there, big guy." Sara jeered.

Mick just grunted and said, "Touché... but the next time we decide to ditch the dimwits, I'm the first to know.  Got it?"

"Alright Mick, that's enough."  Zari reprimanded.  "You gonna play or what?"

"Or maybe you just want to continue pouting in the corner." Amaya teased.

"Nobody puts Rory in a corner." Mick told them in no uncertain terms as he strode forward a couple of steps.  No one had words for that one, but it didn't matter much because after a moment Mick nodded toward the cards and inquired, "What's the game?"

"Five-card.  Think you can handle it?" Jax taunted.  "Just saying, I've got quite the streak going.

Mick snorted, "I'll squash you like the firebug you are."

"Seriously?  Your guys' nicknames for me are _literally_ getting lamer by the minute." Jax whined.

"Quit complaining and deal already." Zari told him.

Jax began to do just that when Mick probed further, "What are the stakes?"

"You're looking at em'." Sara answered, flicking a chip through the air toward Rory.

Mick watched the red chip hit him in the chest and fall to the ground before saying, "Well, Mick Rory don't come cheap.  We're gonna need to raise the bar."

"What did you have in mind?" Amaya asked curiously.

Mick held up a finger, indicating for them to wait a moment then took a long drag from his bottle as he turned and walked out the door and headed in the opposite direction from which he came.

"Ten bucks says he's not coming back." Zari said almost immediately.

"I'll take that bet." Sara replied, remembering that his only other viable option was going back to tweedle dee and tweedle dull.

About a minute later, Mick strolled back in with his beer and a large container in one hand and dragging a chair behind him with the other.  As he positioned his seat, Zari pulled a crisp ten dollar bill from her pocket and reluctantly handed it over to a suddenly chipper Sara who made a big show of holding it up and checking for its authenticity.  Mick ignored them, tossed his container to Amaya, and sat down.

"Cookies?" She questioned,  staring at the tub in her arms.  It was clear, huge, and filled to the brim with the black and white treat she couldn't quite remember the name of.

"Not just cookies... _oreos_."  Mick amended.  "Original _and_ Double Stuf."

Sara caught Zari licking her lips and shook her head.  _How in the world can that girl still be hungry after the meal she just had?_ She didn't get the chance to voice this thought aloud though because Jax spoke up next.

"I agree with Amaya on this one.  I'm pretty full myself."  He noted as he finished up his deal and put the rest of the cards off to the side.

"No worries, heat lamp." Mick told him as he took swig of beer.  "You only eat what you win, which in your case... will be nothing."

"Oh, it's gonna be like that, is it?  Well, then... challenge accepted, my torrid twit."

"Jokes on you." Mick replied readily.  "I have no idea what you said."

Everyone worked to stifle a laugh at that, while Mick, totally unperturbed, continued to drink his brew.  With that, the conversation lulled as they set up the new "chips" and began a new round of game play.

Much to Jax's dismay and everyone else's amusement, Mick won the first two hands.  In the middle of their third, Ray hurried into the room and slammed the door shut.  "Thank god, I found you guys.  Nate was seriously getting on my last nerve out there!"

"Oh, really?" Zari queried with a smile.

"Do tell."  Sara urged with matching demeanor.

"Yes," Amaya agreed.  "What is Nathaniel up to now?"

Unaware of their amusement, Ray continued seriously, "He's setting up another game.  Another one! Can you believe it?  I mean, I admire his holiday spirit and all, but the dude needs to chill.  Between the cheesy games and his bubbly behavior, I think I'm about to O.D. on Thanksgiving."

"Yeah, we know the feeling." Jax commented as he took his turn.

"Seriously, though, I'm glad he's not normally this animated.  Can you imagine being around someone _that_ cheerfully annoying _all_ the time?"

Suddenly all the legends in the room stopped to stare at Ray incredulously.

"What?"  Ray questioned.

"Nothing.  Nothing at all." Sara answered for everyone, sparing his feelings.

"Well, you guys can't judge me because you all are clearly hiding from him too." Ray informed them, sensing some hostility from the gang.  "But you _can_ deal me in next round." He added as he dragged a small trunk over from the far wall and plopped down on it carefully.

And the team did just that.  They managed to make some more room for Ray and caught him up to speed on the Oreos.  From there, they played another round.  Unfortunately, they didn't even get through one full game before Nate found them.

"There you guys are!" Nate said.

Everyone froze as they peeked over at their spirited friend.  His expression was hard to read.  Was he angry? Was he somber?  Would he hate them all for ducking out on him?

Apparently, Nate didn't realize they had purposely ditched him or just didn't care because they next thing he did was smile and say, "The next game is ready! I call it 'What's in the Bag?' The rules are simple--"

"Stop right there." Sara commanded like the captain she was.  "We don't need the rules, Nate.  We're not playing."

"But you don't even know what the game's about."  He tossed back.

"Don't need to.  The thing is..."  Sara retorted, trying to think of a way to gently explain how and why they don't like his Thanksgiving activities.  Luckily, or maybe not so luckily, Mick took it upon himself to enlighten Nate.

"Look kid, your pie was great but your games suck ass."  Mick clarified for him.

"Thanks, Mick." Sara responded, tone dripping with sarcasm.

He just nodded and popped a double stuf Oreo into his mouth all in one bite.

Sara rolled her eyes at Rory as Nate finally replied, "I'm sorry if I was overdoing it back there.  The holidays just have a way of pumping me up... and with all the bad stuff going on these last few weeks, I just wanted us to have one good day for a change."

"We get it." Jax said.

"And today _was_ pretty fun for the most part." Ray assured, though not everyone fully agreed, but they weren't about to tell Nate any different, including Mick, but that was mostly because he was busy enjoying his winnings.

"Really?"  Nate asked, not really believing them.

"Really." Zari promised.  "And the fun doesn't have to end now."

"Does that mean you wanna play the bag game after all?" Nate quirked a brow.

"No." Everyone called out simultaneously in forceful tones.

"Ouch." Nate said more to himself than to the audience in front of him, feeling the sting from that burn.

"But you can take a break from playing hostess with the mostest and join us for some cards and cookies."  Amaya offered with a sweet smile.

Unable to resist Amaya's charm, and presence in general, Nate grinned and nodded, "I'd like that."

"So," Nate began as he interjected himself into the circle of players.  "What are the rules?"

Sara grinned at his boy scout attitude then proceeded to give him the rundown.  After that, it was all smooth sailing.  They no longer had to worry about hiding or hurt feelings, nor did they have to pretend to enjoy themselves because they were genuinely having a good time, even Sara.

When Nate and Ray first came up with the idea of a friends-giving, Sara dreaded it.  She hated it even more as it was happening in real-time... until now.  In this moment, she was enjoying herself very much as she played her favorite game with some of her favorite people.  It gave her hope, hope that she could still find happiness even with all that she had lost.  It also reminded her that not every day had to wind up in total mayhem.

Just as Sara was truly accepting these happy thoughts and Mick was on the verge of his umpteenth win, a loud crashing noise sounded and the waverider tilted and shook.

"Everyone all right?" Nate asked immediately.

The team all gave various answers of yes, then Sara shouted, "Gideon! What the hell was that?"

"We've experienced a minor collision." Gideon stated monotonously.

"No shit." Mick grumbled, staring angrily at his broken beer bottle on the floor as Gideon went on.

"It seems a time pod has connected to one of the empty pod chambers."  Gideon elaborated.

"Time pod?"  Zari queried.

"Rip told me about those."  Jax said.  "They were for people from the outside who needed to get to ships like ours.  You just plug in the coordinates of the ship into the pod and bam.  Literally."

 "Gideon,"  Sara called out once more.  "Who found us?"

"I'm sorry, Captain Lance.  I am unable to retrieve the pod's data."  She replied diligently.

"It's okay, Gideon."  She told the ceiling then turned toward her team and said, "I'm going to investigate.  Everyone stay here."

"No way."  Nate retorted.  "It's too dangerous."

"Nate's right." Amaya agreed.  "You don't know who or what is in there."

"It could be Damien Darhk." Ray warned.  "Or some sort of time pirate."

"With rum."  Mick noted.  "Pirates love rum.  Why couldn't I be a time pirate?"

"Mick's comment aside, they make good points.  You need back up."  Zari tossed in, summing up the group's concern.

"What I _need_ is for my team to be out of harm's way."  Sara said vehemently.  "It's like you all said, any _one_ or any _thing_ could be in that pod, and I'm not going to risk _your_ lives until I find out exactly what's going on and what we're up against.  So, as your captain, I order you all to _stay put_.  Got it?"

"Got it." They all agreed reluctantly.

Sara nodded then grabbed a military grade knife from under her pillow and headed to the pod bay.

A few seconds later, Mick stood up and said, "Well," then paused to grab his chair by its legs and pull hard until ripping one of them off.  Once he had a single splintered chair leg in hand and discarded the rest, Mick continued, "What are we waiting for?"

With that, the rest of them secured their own weapons and followed Mick out after Sara, not hesitating in the least.

********

Sara made her way down various hallways toward the back of the ship.  She was almost there when she heard a noise.  Sensing someone was behind her, she whirled around instantly, using a fancy side-step motion to pin her pursuer to the wall with the knife pressed against his throat.

"Uncle! Uncle!" Ray cried out.

"I _told_ you to stay behind me, haircut." Mick reminded teasingly.

"And _I_ told you _all_ to stay put!" Sara whisper-yelled as she freed Ray from her hold.

"Since when do we respect authority and follow the rules?" Nate tossed out, making a valid point.

"Fair enough."  Sara relented.  "Just be quiet and stay behind me." She told them before turning around and continuing on with mission at hand.

"Yeah, and you me." Mick said, shoving Ray behind him as he moved to follow his captain.

Ray rubbed his neck soothingly as he led the others in the same direction.

Sara finally found the room she was looking for down a dark and quiet corridor on the left side of the stern.  She led the team inside the medium-sized area to find three more big, metal doors.  These ones were air locked.  Sara walked over to the only lit up door, figuring that was the right choice.  Glancing back to see her whole team ready for a fight, she nodded then turned her attention back to the door and placed her hand on the palm scanner.

"Access granted.  Visitor Arrived."  Gideon spoke loud and clear then opened the door.

As the lights changed from red to green on the scanner, the door slid open, revealing a lifeless figure crumpled on the floor.

"Oh my god." Ray called out shockingly from behind Sara.

A second later, Mick uttered in surprise, "I'll be damned."

Sara barely registered their comments as she raked her eyes over the dark figure that lie before her.  It wasn't a dark figure, but a person wearing dark clothes, a very _familiar_ person.

Her heart was beating about a mile a minute and goose-bumps covered her skin as she softly uttered one, simple yet totally unbelievable word...

"Leonard."


End file.
